Jersey City mayor and police chief announce comprehensive review of school security

In the wake of the Newtown Conn. massacre, Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey and Mayor Jerramiah Healy have announced a comprehensive review of school security in the city. Jersey Journal file photo

In light of the recent Newtown, Conn. massacre and other school shootings, the Jersey City Police Department will be conducting a "comprehensive and thorough review" of school security plans in the city's private and public schools, officials have announced.

Beginning tomorrow, Capt. Charles Nierstedt, a 33-year-veteran of the department, will begin working with school officials to enhance safety in the schools, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and Police Chief Tom Comey said in a release.

Jersey City Board of Education President Sue Mack said this afternoon that she didn't know anything about these plans but would reach out of Superintendent of Schools Marcia Lyles to see if she had information about it.

Nierstedt is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, and has experience and training in the city's Office of Emergency Management.

In addition to the public schools, any private educational institution that wants a security analysis of its facility can contact the police chief's office at (201) 547-5301.

This announcement comes on the heels of yesterday's large anti-gun rally in Lincoln Park, which was jointly organized by Healy and the North Jersey chapter of One Million Moms for Gun Control.

Similar events were held yesterday in Washington, DC, Boston, and Chicago.